Suppose that you manage the customer service department at a company that generates $100 million in sales – this may be a manufacturer of fitness equipment and attire. Assume that you just started the job and that end of your second day, your boss sticks her head in your office and announces, “I’m in a rush and have to go, but I wanted to let you know that I put $45,000 in the budget for computers for your department next year. Is that OK? Unfortunately, I’ve got to know by the day after tomorrow. Thanks”. How do you respond? You have two days to decide. If you agree to $45,000 and it turns out to be insufficient, then sometime next year your department will lack computing resources and you’ll have a management problem. If that happens, you may to spend over your budget. You know that effective cost control is important to your new company, so you dread overspending. However, if you ask for more than $45,000, you will need to justify why you need it. How do you proceed?